The World Cup of Wildlife
Our travel adventure, this year, has two major components. First, we will spend about two weeks in the Serengeti Ecosystem in Eastern Africa, the home stage for the Wildebeest Migration. This ‘circle of life’ ritual has been named one of the Seven New Wonders of the World. The migration of more than two million herbivores is not a single event and doesn’t have a start nor an end. It is a continuously flowing river of wildlife that flows towards the water and green grasslands as the seasons evolve, completing a circle every year.
The second component of our trip is a trek in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park in search of mountain gorillas, with a goal to spend an hour up-close-and-personal with one of the mountain gorilla families. Departure is next week, with a one-day stopover in Dubai, Emirates Arab Republic.
2018 Africa Trip Map
Our challenge before departure is to pack all the necessary and sufficient stuff, along with what we want bring, while not exceeding 33 pounds, which by the way includes our carry-on with camera equipment, computer, meds, etc. The small, intra-country airlines do not offer an option to pay for excess weight. They leave open the possibility to purchase another ‘seat,’ providing it is available – at a considerable price, of course. My first mock-packing came in at 49 pounds. Much pruning was required. Following a few moments of panic and general contempt for the weight limitation, I accepted that the only reasonable choice is to pack less. After two days of hard decisions, I’m down to 36 pounds…further cuts now involve the bones. Nevertheless, I’m resigned to getting there, encouraged by some of our fellow travelers who don’t seem to whine about it.
Margaret Bettcher
Tere Monzon
Gail Pereira
Donna Kenton
Barbara and Mel Taylor
Sue Lukrich
Ann and Gary Sheerer
Roselie Buonauro and Andre Schwager
One of these travelers is reportedly down to 10 pounds! Really?
Preparing means more than packing. It involves immersing in our planned itinerary. An exercise that is indeed more fun and energizing as well as an escape from dealing with the luggage weight. We began by watching the 39 minute, 1994 documentary, Africa the Serengeti, narrated by James Earl Jones (available online from Amazon). An excellent synopsis of what we could expect; it served as a guide to more in-depth investigations into points of interest, such as the Serengeti Ecosystem.
As we all know, an ecosystem is not subject to national borders as defined by man. As in this case, the Serengeti Ecosystem includes several demarked territories including the Serengeti National Park, the Magwa Game Reserve, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, as well as several controlled areas in Tanzania, plus the Masai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya.
The Serengeti Ecosystem
This ecosystem is a crucial animal sanctuary and hosts the highest concentration of wildlife remaining on earth. It spans more than 12,000 square miles and is appropriately named Serengeti, derived from the Maasai language, as the ‘endless plains.’ The concentration of wildlife is epitomized by the year-long habitude race against thirst and hunger of the more than two million animals – consisting of about 1.7 million wildebeests, half a million zebras, plus gazelles, elands, and impalas. The south-north distance is more than 500 miles. This vast herd moves through lands that are home to others, such as giraffes, antelopes, and elephants. The fact that their food source is different from that of the migrating herd, the passage is an unwelcome nuisance rather than a threat. The moving herd attracts an entourage of carnivorous animals including lions, hyenas, wild dogs, and crocodiles who feast on the smorgasbord of meats passing by. The ultimate home delivery of meats… online ordering is not required. Given the magnitude of readily available food, they don’t ‘clean their plate’ and so leave enticing morsels of leftovers for a range of scavengers who wait patiently until the kill is abandoned.
The map below illustrates the flow of the herd over the course of a year. This circle of life begins with the birthing season in January and February. More than 400,000 calves are born during a matter of a few weeks. The resume their journey almost immediately. By June/July, they are into the annual rut, while continuing to move north. Hence the cows are pregnant as they peak their circle in the Masai Mara Reserve and then begin their southerly sojourn, crossing the swollen Mara river to make their way back down to the southern parts of the Serengeti in time for the birthing. This journey is pocked with treacherous obstacles that ultimately cost more than a quarter of the herd to predators, to drowning in the various rivers, as well as to fatigue. The last report I saw, dated August 1st, a leading group was spotted crossing the Mara River. Higher than normal daily rainfall has swollen the rivers, promising a most perilous crossing.
The Roadmap of the Great Migration
The wildebeest is an odd, I submit, ugly looking animal. Not very endearing. They are frequently referred to as the clowns of the African plain, assembled by a committee using spare parts available from others. What is most interesting to me is the herd behavior, rather than individual animals. Do the herds have a leader? How do they decide at which moment to start crossing a major obstacle like the Mara river?
Wildebeest the charmer!
Our safari will travel north from the Tarangire National Park, located south of the Serengeti, towards the center of the national park. During this time, the emphasis will be on spotting the full range of wildlife. We will visit the Ngorongoro crater which is the sixth largest crater in the world and serves as a miniature, self-contained Serengeti ecosystem. The 12-mile diameter, 100 square miles caldera was formed when the Ngorongoro volcano collapsed following an eruption about 2.5 million years ago. All elements of the Serengeti ecosystem, including animals, exist in this ‘bowl.’ The caldera’s walls help to insulate it from the rest of the Serengeti.
Continuing to move northwest, we will board a flight to Tarime Airstrip in the North Eastern part of Tanzania. From there, we’ll make our way to the Masai Mara Game Preserve by road, crossing into Kenya. It is here that our party will intersect with the bulk of wildebeest herds.
If you can’t be there, but want an armchair view, I suggest you go online to HerdTracker Live Feed, which broadcast several 20-minute cam recordings daily. As of August 1st, several herds have started crossing the Mara River. We should be in Masai Mara during the peak crossing period.
After observing the migration phenomenon over the course of a few days from varying vantage points including from the air via a hot air balloon ride, we will fly to Kigali, Rwanda. The Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda is our destination and home to the mountain gorillas.
When I first heard we were going to Rwanda, visceral negativity immediately popped up. I recalled the tumultuous times of the 1990’s when the civil war between the Tutsi and Hutus culminated in the 1994 Rwandan genocide wherein the Hutus mass slaughtered close to a million Tutsis over the course of just a few weeks. In response, the Tutsis financially backed the Ugandan army to stop the violence and to expel or displace more than two million Hutus. Historically, the tension between the Hutus and Tutsi was based not on genetics, not on religion, but rather on socio-economics: the wealthy were Tutsis, the poorer were Hutus. In yet another case of colonialism by European nations, the Belgians, when they arrived, used a similar strategy to that used by the British to assert control over the local population in their colonies – that is, by creating dissension. The Belgians accomplished this by using a device to measure the noses of the people. If it exceeded a certain dimensional threshold, you were a Tutsi. If your nose fell short, you were a Hutu. To enforce this branding, they issued identification cards with the Hutu or Tutsi designation. In some cases members of a single family may be split – some designated as Hutus, others as Tutsis. This superimposed racial stratification was the essence of the friction that resulted in the genocide.
As you can probably tell, I still have strong feelings about how this genocide materialized, about how the world did not respond, and how the United States did not take action. President Clinton, after leaving office, volunteered that it was his biggest regret that we didn’t step in and stop the slaughter. So I’m going to this country with both hesitation and curiosity. We will visit the Rwanda Genocide Memorial while in Kigali. I hope to get a sense of whether this artificial race division has dissolved or whether a residual exists, and what form it is taking.
Thankfully, sailing overall this supposedly intelligent-human turmoil, the seemingly less intelligent mountain gorillas proceeded with life unaware and in peace. Well, except for man’s incursion into their lives in pursuit of trophies of gorilla hands and heads, and the abduction of young gorillas to feed the appetite of zoos worldwide. With mountain gorillas on a path of extinction due to poaching, the renowned primatologist, Dian Fossey, arrived in 1966 with a mission to count and study these primates. She quickly became the front line against poaching and is generally credited for stopping their slide to extinction. She and her students’ work laid the foundation for today’s tourist business, which allows small groups of less than 8 people to spend an hour with and among these great forest residents. The economics of this adventure overshadow the profit from killing or abducting them. A case where tourism is actually very good for the environment.
We will be visiting a section of the Virunga mountains known as the Virunga complex, which is the home of approximately 480 mountain gorillas distribute across 12 mountain gorilla groups. Two are designated for scientific research only while the other 10 are available for tourism. Each family has a unique name. The Susa Group, which is the one researched by Dian Fossey, peaked at 42 individuals before splitting into two families: Susa-A and Susa-B families. Each family is headed by a Silverback. Below is a photograph of Guhonda, head of the Sabyinyo Gorilla Group.
Head of the Sabyinyo Family: Guhonda
At this time, we do not know which family we will be visiting. The trackers will locate the families early in the day, and then assign each tourist group to a specific family. The assignments will be made by matching the strenuousness of the trek to the physical condition and capacity of the tourist group. Our guide will train us on the proper behavior and etiquette while in their presence. I imagine the time with the gorillas to be a mixture of wonder, excitement, and scariness. After all, a Silverback can weigh over 800 lbs. He is there to protect his family. What happens (and it does often) if one of the juveniles or toddlers decides to approach and touch us? Researching the number of actual encounters, and perhaps ‘incidents’ did not reveal any information. I didn’t dig very hard. Hmmm!
Putting all this aside, I’m very excited about huddling with these giants. Here’s a toast to a fantastic adventure and hopefully a few great photos! Cheers!
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